Commemorating The 200th Anniversary Of The Abolition Of The Transatlantic Slave Trade
Floor Speech
COMMEMORATING THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ABOLITION OF THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE -- (House of Representatives - May 01, 2007)
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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 272, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. I also rise in honor of my forefathers and foremothers who were captured through raids and kidnappings, sold to Europeans and subjugated to four and a half centuries of the transatlantic slave trade.
The transatlantic slave trade is sometimes called ``Maafa,'' meaning ``holocaust'' or ``great disaster'' in Kiswahili by African and African American scholars because it resulted in a vast loss of life for African captives both in Africa and in America. It is believed that 50 percent of African deaths, 10 million, occurred in Africa as a result of wars between native tribes. 4.5 percent, around 900,000 deaths, occurred in large forts called factories. Around 2.5 million Africans died during voyages through the infamous Middle Passage, where they were packed into tight, unsanitary spaces on ships for months at a time.
While estimates of the number of slaves brought to North America vary from a few hundred thousand to a few million, the slave population in the United States had grown to 4 million by the 1860s. From the latter 18th century, and possibly before that even, until the Civil War, the rate of natural growth of North American slaves was much greater than the population of any nation in Europe and was nearly twice as rapid as that in Europe. In North America, the treatment of slaves was very harsh and inhumane. Whether laboring or walking about in public, slaves were regulated by legally authorized violence. On large plantations, slave overseers were authorized to whip and brutalize noncompliant slaves. Significantly, slave codes authorized, indemnified or even required the use of violence and were denounced by abolitionists for their brutality.
In the present phase of society, we must recognize the historical significance of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade to the world. More broadly, respect the memories of those who gave their lives in the fight for freedom, and make sure that no generations yet to come will ever experience this kind of inhumane brutality.
And so I commend Representative Lee for introducing this resolution, commend Representative Payne for his tremendous leadership in human rights.
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